1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicle autonomy. More particularly, the present invention relates to autonomous vehicles using sensor fusion technology to provide safer rides.
2. Background Art
Amusement and theme park operators continuously strive to provide their patrons with more unique, adventurous and safer rides. Today, ride vehicles that operate through theme parks follow the same path for each ride, and their operation is pre-programmed, which make the ride vehicles less attractive to the patrons. For example, some theme park vehicles run on track rails. In other examples theme park vehicles may be controlled by overhead wires. In all such situations, the paths of the ride vehicles within the park are pre-defined and cannot be altered. Moreover, such pre-defined paths of the ride vehicles can limit the types of environments or areas in which the ride vehicles can be used. For example, ride vehicles operating on tracks will undoubtedly require areas suitable for track installation, where such areas may not be available in the theme park. In other cases, the implementation of a predefined path through various areas in the theme park may not be practical due to heavy pedestrian traffic, for example.
An attractive alternative to such ride vehicles having pre-defined paths involves ride vehicles that are able to autonomously navigate through the theme park. However, autonomous navigation has not been extended to ride vehicles in theme parks mainly for the reason that sensing and control for the ride vehicles are performed at a single point, which is the ride vehicle itself. In other words, today's ride vehicles are not able to navigate autonomously in the theme park, due in large part to safety concerns for the riders and other pedestrians. For example, a ride vehicle can be equipped with various sensors that are configured to detect the surrounding environment of the ride vehicle as it travels. As such, safe autonomous navigation of the ride vehicle would essentially be dependent on the proper functionality of the sensors, since the ride vehicle would be completely dependent on the sensors for the detection of obstacles and more importantly, detection of other pedestrians that might be in the ride vehicle's path. Consequently, a minor failure at the ride vehicle could cause a disastrous event, which can be extremely costly for theme park operators.
Therefore, there is a strong need in the art for autonomous ride vehicles in theme parks, which can provide unique experiences for the riders from one ride to the next, while providing safety for the riders and other patrons.